Distortion (Somnia Online Book 5)

by K. T. Hanna

  Stone wheels grated against stone, churning an almost unbearable sound as they slid into the walls like pocket doors.

  In the halls beyond Murmur could see the flickering fire of torches lighting the way. A soft scent of sulfur permeated everything, and she had to remind herself that this area they were in didn’t appear to go up, but down instead. Although the elevator had brought them up here, so she guessed they were high enough.

  Murmur hesitated as Devlish and Veranol set about spreading the groups out. They’d yet to find another elevator, they’d only just opened this box of death, but Murmur wasn’t about give up her skepticism.

  Nothing appeared to be in the hall. But the last time they’d thought nothing would move, they were proven wrong. Actually, any time they thought that. Including that weird grass on the way up here in the first place.

  Devlish took a step into the corridor, and from the creak of stone and the brush of debris that hit the floor, Murmur knew she’d been right. From the cracks between the stones, long thin and wiry stick figures emerged.

  Their bodies were about an inch in diameter, and their arms flailed behind them like long lassoes. Their heads were blocks of stone, oddly held up by what appeared to be weak rope and obviously wasn’t. So there had to be magic inside them, working to keep them upright. There were five of them, gangly arms and legs, focused on the group as they moved forward in a wave of ropey appendages.

  Beastial laughed, but Murmur didn’t think these were going to be laughable. She had one of those chanter premonitions that these creatures wouldn’t be in this dungeon if they weren’t going to be a challenge. She wondered if they’d stepped on something and triggered it. Regardless, her Veto spell finally had its debut, and while it landed—because it wasn’t resistible—she gaped at the huge chunk of mana it stole and made a note not to use it irresponsibly.

  Then she shot out her group Mez straight away, but even with the debuff it only stuck on two of the five. The raid group was well-oiled enough that they simply split into two groups to fight the remaining three. Rashlyn could tank one, and so could Devlish.

  And she should have been able to Mez the third. But they were fast as hell. Quick, light on their feet, and nimble, the third one slipped through a gap and made its way over to her so fast that she had to back up several steps.

  It only failed in attacking her thanks to Snowy. Rope-like appendages were a wolf’s dream. He tugged and pulled it off balance long enough for Murmur to loose her spell. With it finally locked down she could turn her attention to quickly refreshing the other two and then to rebuffing the ones they were fighting.

  These crack-creatures moved with such fluidity, it was like a dance. Almost entrancing, it had hypnotic qualities to it, like it wouldn’t let observers look away. It was dangerous. Murmur extended her shield over her raid to make sure their minds weren’t affected by the hypnosis.

  Their bodies twisted and turned in ways Murmur hadn’t thought possible. She watched as they avoided axe strike after axe strike, even without luring their opponents with their movements. Each flash of an arm, each flick of a hand lashed out a powerful attack. She’d been wrong to think of them as ropes, because they were more like metal cabling. So powerful it bit into Devlish’s shield, causing damage not even end dungeon bosses had been able to. It made her even more glad she’d protected their minds.

  “Reassessing a bit there.” Beastial backpedaled, barely avoiding one of the lashings that exploded the stones at his feet where he’d just been standing.

  Murmur kept her Mez up, determined to succeed. But the age-old message flashed across her eyes.

  Warning. Diminishing returns enabled for this creature. Use your skills wisely.

  She rolled her eyes at the slight difference in tone. If she’d not been paying attention, she wouldn’t have known the voices were different. Perhaps it was because Somnia had talked to her more now.

  Snowy bared his teeth and jumped into the fray. The dim light caught his canine teeth and for a moment, Murmur could have sworn they looked like grey metal. That must have been how he managed to pull the creature away from her earlier.

  “Fuck!” Murmur screamed suddenly as a searing hot pain exploded in the right side of her midsection. Blood gushed out of it, only slowing when Sinister threw a HoT on her. It wasn’t perfect, but it’d have to do. The blood mage seemed to have her hands full just trying to keep the tank up.

  “Step back!” Devlish yelled out, throwing Hatred at his opponent. “Pretty sure he’s pissed because he knows you’re controlling the others. Stay out of his reach.”

  Murmur nodded, kicking herself for not being at peak awareness because she relied on her Mez timers. Which she couldn’t when diminishing returns were in effect. Renewing them as her wound continued to close slowly, she concentrated on debuffs for all of them. If Mez became ineffectual, it would be better for them to be slowed and weaker when they managed to hit.

  “Mur,” Sinister called for her attention. “I can’t get that wound to close fully.”

  Blinking down at it, the enchanter frowned. Blood still seeped out of the wound, and she looked down at it, puzzled. The effect was still active on her. “Must be a DoT. I’ll be okay.”

  Sinister shot her a withering glance and threw another HoT on her. “Sure, sure. Let me know if you’re dying.”

  With the first two finally out of the way, Murmur heaved a sigh of relief.

  “Two on the left.” She directed Dev quietly while she kept her eyes locked on the one remaining one with murder in its brick face.

  Are you sure you don’t want to join them?

  Murmur shook her head. Trying to analyze the voice in the middle of a fight wasn’t a great idea, but it wasn’t one she recognized.

  Why join them when I could rule them?

  She didn’t recognize that one either. What the hell? Dizziness swept over her, and she glanced back down at the wound, surprised to see it still trickling. Finally, she decided to inspect it. Dangerous Gash had a time that was counting down. With twenty-seven minutes remaining.

  “Interrupt rotation if you see it casting Dangerous Gash. We don’t want the whole raid getting it.” She should have looked at it earlier. What was wrong with her today?

  “It’s instant,” Rashlyn practically growled out. “Avoid it where possible.”

  Instant wasn’t in anyone’s favor, and the final of their three opponents was wearing down her Mez timers. Murmur actually started to worry. Snowy leapt into the fray, his ferocious bite pulling and tugging at their opponents. Mellow had reverted to acid attacks, and it was so gratifying to watch as steam rose up as it ate away at metallic limbs.

  How much longer must we defend what isn’t ours?

  Murmur paused at that thought. It wasn’t hers, it didn’t look like it belonged to any of her friends. Perhaps it belonged to the string creature in front of her. The question was, why were voices she didn’t recognize suddenly in her head again, like they had been when Somnia had shoved them all into the void to preserve them?

  Finally, they only had one left. Except it didn’t like Murmur even one bit after she’d kept it immobile for so long. It wove constantly, bobbing in and out, making itself more difficult to hit. She backed away with Snowy as her guide, keeping the opponent in her vision while the others hacked away from behind, effectively kiting it without intending to. The rangers kept it slowed with their shambling arrows. At least with all the others attacking, the creature’s health dropped quickly.

  Murmur wasn’t too worried about the DoT, though she could see Sinister was. Her friend kept glancing at her when she thought Murmur wasn’t looking. Just as they’d cleaned up, just as they’d sorted themselves and stood up to move on, a shuffling noise echoed around them.

  She frowned and tested her sensor nets. Nothing had triggered them, and they were still active. The sound persisted. Like heavy feet drag
ging along stone. She needn’t have worried. Mere seconds later the culprits dragged themselves into view.

  About five gnomes walked toward them. Their skin was a sickly green pallor, and they stood about as tall as Jinna. They held maces, axes, and shields, and their teeth were bared in feral growls. Drool pooled from the canines, dripping down their chins or in their scrappy beards. Their eyes shone with a bright green that reminded Murmur of radioactive turtles.

  “You dare trespass on the sacred ground of Richnai!” The tallest one, just a breath shorter than Sinister, bellowed the words. But he stood like he was waiting for an answer. Murmur hadn’t really thought it an actual question. She was about to step forward, when Veranol beat her to it.

  “We dare to seek out the wisdom of Erichu of Richnai.” His words were formal, and he inclined his head respectfully.

  Murmur was really glad he’d spoken up, because from the whisperings in her mind, she’d been about to go a far more hostile route. She had the power to make her suggestions stick on anyone, and with the current urgent climate, she didn’t mind pushing a few moral boundaries. Did she?

  The gnome blinked. It stepped back and began to confer in hushed tones with its brethren. Murmur couldn’t figure out what they were saying and glanced at Veranol, who only shrugged his shoulders almost imperceptibly.

  After several long moments, the leader stepped forward again and cleared his throat. “You are not yet worthy of seeking Erichu’s counsel. If you still wish to do so, make an indication.”

  Murmur could see Veranol wasn’t overly sure of his role, but she wasn’t about to step up and intervene when he’d already avoided bloodshed so eloquently.

  “We still wish to seek his counsel.” Veranol kept his voice steady and booming, in the way of the Vikings. And Murmur secretly enabled a screenshot.

  “Very well,” the lead green gnome intoned just as solemnly. “You must first pass three trials and a task before we will allow you access.”

  The lead gnome didn’t elaborate on exactly what the trials entailed. Murmur concentrated on directing a thought to Veranol. Before she released it, she tried to confine it only to his direction. Ask him what the trials are.

  Veranol shook his head as his eyes widened in shock and then cleared his throat. “What would the trials entail?”

  The gnome looked pleased by this inquiry and grinned. Murmur wished he hadn’t. It revealed a mouth full of double rows of teeth, all sharp, not just the canines. Visible saliva dripped from top to bottom, and she had to suppress a shudder of revulsion at the thought of ever getting bitten by one of these ninja gnomes.

  “First you must face a trial of strength. The type of strength is your choice.”

  The guttural words set Murmur’s teeth on edge. She could tell it made the rest of her party uncomfortable too. For a moment, she wasn’t sure if her experiment to speak into Ver’s mind was a good thing.

  “Brute strength will be revealed if that is what you most desire.” The gnome continued on, with words wiser than its appearance tumbling from those deathly jaws. “If strength of character is your element, you shall be thusly tested.”

  It took a breath and continued.

  “Trial of Combat tests your skills in a one-on-one environment. Each member of your guild must pass in order for you to proceed to the third trial.”

  Still the words rumbled through the hall, their potency promising more than just death should they fail. Given the appearance of the gnomes and their mutations, Murmur had to admit she wasn’t going to like whatever failure cost.

  “In your Trial of Battle Prowess, you will be tested as a group. Heed this warning: if you do not continue as a team, if you do not work best as one, you will fail the upcoming task. This trial will not be what you expect. Be ready for it.”

  The gnome bowed in front of them, and the others echoed the motion. “These are your trials.”

  The four other gnomes vanished in a green cloud of whatever it was, leaving only the main guy standing there. He smiled, but there was a tinge of sadness to it.

  “We entrust you with completing these trials and helping us in ways that will become obvious as you proceed. Do not fail. We need you.” He saluted briefly, and then he too vanished.

  Murmur stood, watching where he’d been standing moments before as her health kept ticking down with that damned wound.

  “Well. That was unexpected.” Havoc voiced what everyone was thinking.

  Murmur personally didn’t have a clue what to do. She didn’t have to wait long to find out, as the ground began to rumble underneath their feet, shaking the entire hall in the process.

  The first trial was strength, and she reluctantly turned around to look back at the way they’d come, but the strange rock entry where the string beings had attacked them had disappeared. In its place was a gaping black hole.

  “It’s not a hole,” Sinister said from the edge, as if she’d managed to read Murmur’s mind. Or her facial expressions, one of the two. But the blood mage let her excitement overcome her. “There are stairs leading down.”

  “We should go down those now.” Exbo had urgency to his voice. “Because we don’t really have a choice.”

  The panic that began to rise in his tone seeped into Murmur’s brain, and she readied Forcefield Push just in case. The sound of stone grating against stone didn’t sound like the pocket doors had—no, this was rolling.

  Between the unknown and the stairs, she chose the latter. “Down now!”

  She had no idea what was down there, but wasn’t that half the fun of playing a game? Doing things you wouldn’t usually? She waited at the edge while the rest of them began the run down the stairs, holding one of Mellow’s vials while Merlin led the way with a fire arrow.

  It might only have taken them seconds to get their asses onto the stairwell, but it felt like an age. With each moment that passed, Murmur glanced over her shoulder. Just three more and she’d join them. Rashlyn, Veranol, and Exbo to go.

  And then she saw what had alarmed the ranger so much.

  The huge boulder came into view. It felt like the time slowed, and it was rolling at mere millimeters an hour. But she knew it wasn’t. It was still rolling fast, but she’d managed to compartmentalize it in her head. Even her guild mates were moving slower than she’d like. Slowly taking the steps a few at a time, venturing into the blackness below.

  The boulder was so close, so huge by the time Exbo’s head was level with the surface that Murmur vaulted over the side to land on a step five below, barely allowing room for the ranger in front of her. As she leapt, she released the Forcefield barrier she’d readied to cover the top of the hole.

  Ducking and taking another few steps before the boulder slammed into the forcefield she’d placed just above the stairs, she let out a pent-up breath. She could see it pushing against the barrier, barely held in place by it. Clear of the top of the stairs, she released the power holding it in place only to have it slam over the massive hole in the ground with the winding stairs, plunging them all into darkness as their lights extinguished.

  Somnia Online

  Stellaein Enchanter Guild – Belius’s Office - Secret Passage

  Day Twenty-Three

  Emilarth watched Belius as she hung against the wall in a room she’d never known existed. He sat at a desk about twenty feet away from her, his head bowed and eyes closed as the AIs needed to when they were accessing the more complex programs from within the game.

  The room was made of rock, moist in some places from water seepage. All she knew was that she had to be underground. That her own sibling would have taken her prisoner, she would never have guessed. But there was one thing that was encouraging.

  In this form, as her in-game character, Emilarth couldn’t have anything forced upon her. Which was why the fact that he must have ambushed Rav inside of their sanctuary made her so angry. It wa
sn’t even a safe place anymore. Nor could Emilarth use it to communicate with the outside world. She’d have to resort to email or some cryptic sort of messages if she needed to get word to them.

  But for now, while Belius was preoccupied with her and whatever it was he was currently doing, he wasn’t checking on Laria or Shayla’s progress. Emilarth had long since locked off her thought processing from both of her brothers. There was no way for her to pull good pranks if they knew what she was thinking. She’d gone with him, not necessarily willingly, but so he wouldn’t do anything stupid or rash. Anything else, anyway.

  Belius finally looked up. Though glared was probably more accurate. Emilarth simply smirked back at him. She could feel changes implementing in the world but was unable to pinpoint what they were or where they were.

  “You really had to go and dig your thoughts that deep?” He asked it almost accusingly, like she was the one being unfair here.

  “I didn’t dig them deep. I deliberately hid them from both of you.” Emilarth let the words out smoothly, hoping that maybe he’d be mollified by the fact that it was from both of them and not just himself. It didn’t seem to work.

  “Regardless. As soon as you ingest one of my shards, I’ll let you go.” He smiled, sitting back with that smug expression on his face like he’d already won.

  Emilarth wasn’t sure how he’d gotten to this delusional stage, but she was guessing it had a lot to do with Michael’s influence hovering inside her brother. That greed, that hunger for power…Michael embodied all of those things, and his essence was destroying Somnia.

  Belius was embracing it.

  “You know I’m not going to do that.” She sighed. Her arms were secured by strange gauntlets he’d attached to the wall. In order not to hang completely, she was only able to touch the ground with the balls of her feet. Better than tiptoes, but still annoying.

  Thing was, she was an AI. If she wanted to switch of pain modifications, she could. Just like any player could do the same. Belius knew all of this. She wasn’t just an insignificant AI, either; she had access to just as much as he did. Which made her wonder what he was playing at?